On July 5th, 2022, a Canadian scientist announced in the journal, Science Daily, that he has discovered a new, very large hole in the ozone layer. Professor Qing-Bin Lu of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada says that reserch shows that a large hole has been open for more than 30 years. He claims that the hole is in the lower stratosphere over the tropics. His reserch also shows that the new hole is seven times larger than the hole found over Antarctica.
Professor Lu goes on to say that unlike the hole over Antarctica, which only opens during the spring, the new hole stays open constantly. Professor Lu says, "The tropics constitutes half the planet's surface area and are home to about half the world's population." The ozone layer helps protect the earth from harmful ultra violet radiation. Loss of ozone could cause skin cancer and cateracts in humans. It can also cause a decrease in agricultural productivity and do harm to aquatic animals.
